Cruise
Antorcha Picked To Lead Holland America Line
Carnival Corporation & plc has named Gus Antorcha, currently chief operations officer for Carnival Cruise Line, as president of Holland America Line, effective immediately. Antorcha will report directly to Stein Kruse, group CEO of Holland America Group and Carnival UK. Neil Palomba, currently president of the company’s Italy-based Costa Cruises, has been named executive vice president and chief operations officer for Carnival Cruise Line, effective immediately, reporting directly to Christine Duffy, president of the brand. During Palomba’s transition, the Costa Cruises...
Agents’ Choice: Vote While You Still Can
Baxter Media’s annual Agents' Choice Readership Survey has re-opened for a limited time in case you missed it the first time around. “The lockdown due to COVID-19 came right in the middle of our Agents’ Choice voting period,” explains Wendy McClung, Executive VP, Operations. “We realize that so many professionals in our industry look forward to selecting their favourites every year, so we wanted to re-open the survey to make sure everyone can have their say and cast their vote.” If you did miss the chance to vote in Agents’ Choice, Canada's original and most...
Carnival Makes Delivery, Deployment Changes
Carnival Cruise Line has been notifying guests and travel agents of revisions to the delivery of its newest ship, Mardi Gras, as well as the transformed Carnival Radiance – both resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic – and new itineraries for Carnival Breeze and Carnival Magic that are all part of an updated deployment plan from November 2020 to May 2021. Key changes include: Mardi Gras, the first LNG-powered ship to operate in the Western Hemisphere and featuring the first roller coaster at sea, will now enter into service from Port Canaveral, Fla. on Feb. 6, 2021. ...
Luxury Travel Poised To Make A Strong Comeback
A recent ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) survey, of 1000 international travel agents, has revealed that more than 50% of respondents are confident the luxury travel market is poised to rebound within the year. Agents also reported some emerging trends, including luxury automobile rentals, private villa rentals, and private jets. And it’s no wonder as luxury travel offers a controlled and secluded environment that works so well in a socially distanced world. Join Baxter Media TODAY at 1PM EST for a FREE webinar, Selling Luxury Travel, to learn all about luxury travel -...
MSC Working With Blue-Ribbon Experts
Over the past months since temporarily halting its cruise operation in connection with the development of the global health pandemic ashore, MSC Cruises has been hard at work to develop a new health and safety operating protocol to support its return to service once the time is right. Having set up a cross-functional task force comprised of in-house experts in the areas of Medical Services, Public Health and Sanitation, Hotel Services, HVAC and other Shipboard Engineering Systems, Information Technology and Logistics, MSC Cruises also engaged the world-renowned expert consultancy of...
It’s All About Sailing Healthy
Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd are collaborating to develop enhanced cruise health and safety standards in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The cruise companies have asked Governor Mike Leavitt and Dr. Scott Gottlieb to serve as co-chairs of a newly formed group of experts called the “Healthy Sail Panel.” The panel is tasked with collaboratively developing recommendations for cruise lines to advance their public health response to COVID-19, improve safety, and achieve readiness for the safe resumption of operations. The expert panel has...
Let’s Get Uncomfortable About Racism
Canadian travel professionals are invited to join a virtual event -- “Let’s Get Uncomfortable: Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Canada’s Travel Industry” – set to take place tomorrow (July 7) from 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. ET. With conversations about systemic, anti-Black racism dominating headlines and political discussions, companies are being urged to confront and correct internal biases. The travel industry is among those being taken to task for its lack of diversity, with calls to commit to anti-racist practices from various media outlets and to demonstrate “true...
Agents Choice Is Back … For A Limited Time
Just in case you missed it, Baxter Media is re-opening the 21st edition of the Agents' Choice Readership Survey, Canada's original and most authoritative travel industry survey. If you didn’t get a chance to vote in the Spring, we’re giving agents an extra two weeks to complete the survey. Vote for your favourite destinations, suppliers, brands and services in 40+ categories. We are still offering voters the chance to win one of five fantastic prizes: A delightful discovery through the sights, sounds, and tastes of ‘the big easy’ on Collette’s six-day Spotlight to New...